AMD turns in record Q2

Microprocessor and graphics chip companyAMD said it had turned in a record second quarter, with revenues amounting to $1.65 billion, a 40 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year.

But it made a net loss of $43 million as it accounted for the spin off of GlobalFoundries (GloFo) – it has a 28 percent stake in the foundry.

If it wasn’t for its equity stake in GloFo, AMD would have made a profit of $83 million.

Dirk Meyer, CEO of AMD, said strong demand for its mobile products accounted for record second quarter revenues and delivered a “healthy gross margin”. AMD’s gross margin was 45 percent – that compares to a gross margin of 67 percent that rival Intel reported when it turned in its Q2 results earlier this week.

AMD said that average selling prices on microprocessors were flat for the period. The company said that increases in its computer division rose four percent compared to Q1 and 31 percent compared to Q2 last year. The increases were mostly down to sales of notebook microprocessors and chipsets.

The company’s server revenues weren’t broken down, but it’s likely that sales of those refreshed products will benefit AMD in its third financial quarter.

Graphics chip revenue rose by 87 percent year on year, and AMD reported record graphics chipset shipments. However, average selling prices decreased, the company said.